Shapeshifting Mechanics

Shapeshifting is a mechanic that allows Adventurers to transform into their equipped Dragon during a quest.

Overview

During a quest, an icon of the equipped Dragon as well as a gauge will appear next to the Adventurer's icon. When this gauge is filled to at least 50%, the Dragon's icon will light up and Shapeshifting will be available for use.

• If the gauge is filled to 100%, that allows 2 uses of Shapeshifting.
• If the Adventurer has an affliction, then Shapeshifting will be unavailable until the affliction wears off or is cleansed.

Shapeshifting allows the player to temporarily fight as the Dragon, granting access to new basic attacks, a new skill (that is immediately ready to use), and a Dragon timer that shows how much longer the Adventurer will remain in their shapeshifted form.

• With a few exceptions such as or , the basic attacks of Dragons will not refill the SP of their own skill nor those of the Adventurer. However, any automatic SP regeneration will still occur while in Dragon form.

During Shapeshift, the player cannot be knocked back and is immune to all afflictions. Any damage taken will deplete part of the Dragon timer, rather than HP. Once the timer is depleted, whether by time or by taking damage, the Dragon will revert to the Adventurer, and Shapeshifting will be unavailable for 10 seconds (even if there is enough Dragon gauge remaining to Shapeshift again).

All manner of Shapeshift attacks will break enemy blue shields instantly, and can also destroy some field obstacles.

Unlike adventurers, both moving and dodging during Shapeshift will also cause hitstun towards targets and break objects.

When using a Dragon's skill, their animation is locked - even if the Dragon receives enough damage during the skill to end Dragon form, the Dragon will not revert until the skill animation has finished. This can be used to "dragon tank" attacks that would otherwise be lethal to the Adventurer if the Dragon were to revert too early.

Computer-controlled allies will not use Shapeshift if it is available. This also applies to the leader unit on auto-play. If Shapeshift is activated manually and auto-play is resumed, however, the computer-controlled ally will use the Dragon's skill immediately and continue attacking.

Shapeshift activation shockwave

When an Adventurer shapeshifts, they will emit a shockwave that damages surrounding enemies, with an element that matches that of the equipped Dragon. The damage modifier of this shockwave depends on the rarity of the equipped Dragon, with some exceptions.

• Adventurers with unique Dragon forms or access to Dragondrive will use the 5 variant of the shockwave, regardless of what their equipped Dragon's rarity is. The element of their shockwave will match the Adventurer, also regardless of the equipped Dragon.

Dragon Rarity	Damage Multiplier
5	200%
4	150%
3	100%

Dragon gauge

The Dragon gauge dictates whether or not Shapeshifting is available. 50% charge is needed for a single Shapeshift, while 100% is neeeded for 2 Shapeshifts.

Gauge charge is granted whenever an enemy is defeated, when a boss's HP reaches certain thresholds, or when breaking a Dragon Obelisk (25% gauge from a small obelisk, 50% from a large obelisk)

• In Solo play, this gauge is shared among all units.
• In Co-op play, the gauge is shared to the extent that all players get the charge from enemy kills/boss hp thresholds/Dragon Obelisks. However, the actual amount of gauge gained can differ based on each unit's equipped Dragon Haste abilities, if any. Personal gauge boosts from skills also do not apply to co-op allies at all.

Personal gauge boosts

Some units have skills that will increase the charge of their personal Dragon gauge when used. This charge only affects the Adventurer and any computer-controlled allies that they have - it does not affect allies in Co-op.

• Any personal gauge boost effects on the equipped Helper unit will also apply in Solo play.

Skills

Name	Adventurers with Skill	Weapons with Skill	Dragons with Skill

Abilities

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Dragon Haste

Dragon haste increases the rate at which the unit will gain Dragon gauge. This does not apply to allies in co-op.

Co-Abilities

Dragon Haste is a common co-ability on most Sword Adventurers

Chain Co-Abilities

Name	Adventurers with Co-Ability

Shapeshift Prep

Shapeshift Prep allows the Dragon gauge to be automatically filled to a set amount at the start of combat. This effect applies to all units in both Solo and Co-op play.

• Any Shapeshift Prep effects on the equipped Helper unit will also apply in Solo play.
• In Raid Events, Shapeshift Prep effects will apply to all 16 units.

Abilities

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Effects during Shapeshift

Some abilities will trigger an effect that only applies during Shapeshift. These effects will cease to apply after Shapeshift has ended.

Dragon Damage

Dragon Damage increases the damage dealt by all attacks while in Dragon form.

Abilities

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Dragon attack rate

Dragon attack rate up increases the speed at which attacks can be performed while in Dragon Form.

Abilities

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Dragon Time

Dragon Time, as the name may suggest, is the amount of time that the Adventurer can stay in Dragon form. This time can be extended by Bond level with the equipped Dragon, which can be increased in the Dragon Roost. Some skills and abilities will also increase Dragon Time.

Skills

Name	Adventurers with Skill	Weapons with Skill	Dragons with Skill

Abilities

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Effects persisting beyond Shapeshift

Some abilities will trigger an effect upon Shapeshifting, and their effects will persist after Shapeshift has ended.

Strength for remainder of quest

Abilities such as Dragon's Claws or Dragon's Might will grant one or more strength buffs that last throughout the quest.

Abilities

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Chain Co-Abilities

Name	Adventurers with Co-Ability

Dragon's Skill

Abilities

Dragon's Skill grants one or more buffs to Skill Damage that last throughout the quest.

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Effects after reverting from Shapeshift

Abilities

Some abilities trigger an effect after Shapeshift has ended.

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Unique Dragon Form

Certain Adventures have a unique Dragon form that overwrites the attacks and skill of the equipped dragon when Shapeshift is performed.

Unique Transformations

A Unique Transformation is a special mechanic that replaces Shapeshifting for certain units.

Overview

Similar to Shapeshifting, Unique Tranformation (UT) uses a gauge and is available to use once the gauge reaches a certain threshold, which varies by the Adventurer. Once it is activated, the user will emit a shockwave that damages surrounding enemies. The gauge will then start to decrease, acting as a timer to indicate how long the Unique Transformation state will last. A UT cannot be entered if the Adventurer has an affliction.

When UT is activated, the UT gauge will begin to deplete from the fill amount it had at the time of activation. For example, if the fill amount was 60%, the gauge will begin to deplete from 60%.

During UT, the user is also not immune to damage, so any damage taken will deplete HP as usual - but not the UT gauge.

UT can be freely de-activated by tapping the icon again (as opposed to Shapeshift, which can only be exited when the timer is depleted). If this is done, the UT gauge will pause with the same fill amount as when it was deactivated. It will then be possible to enter UT again after about 5 seconds, provided the gauge is filled enough to activate it again. If the UT gauge fully depletes and is not ended prematurely, then the wait time will be 10 seconds instead.

Computer-controlled allies will use UT (unlike Shapeshift, which they do not use). UT does not consume the regular Dragon gauge, so if a computer-controlled ally activates UT, then the shared Dragon gauge will not be affected.

UT Gauge

The UT Gauge can take regular Dragon gauge boosts from defeating enemies, boss HP thresholds, Dragon Obelisks, and personal dragon gauge boosts.

However, the regular dragon gauge holds a maximum of 1,000 Dragon Points (DP), while the UT gauge can hold higher amounts, thus requiring more DP to fill it up. For example, if a UT gauge can hold a maximum of 3,000 points, then if an enemy granted 100 DP, a normal Adventurer would gain 10% gauge while the UT Adventurer would only gain 3.33% gauge.

Since Shapeshift Prep's effect uses a percentage instead of a DP value, it is not subjected to the above caveat - 10% Shapeshift Prep would give 10% gauge to both a normal Adventurer and a UT Adventurer.

Depending on the UT Adventurer, some skills or standard attacks will also directly add or remove from the UT gauge. These boosts only affect the UT gauge, and will not affect the regular Dragon gauge.

Shapeshift-triggered Effects

Effects triggered by Shapeshifting (such as Dragon's Claws), effects that only apply during Shapeshift (such as Dragon Damage or Dragon Time), and effects that occur after ending Shapeshift (such as Fatalis' curse), are not activated by UT since technically no Shapeshift took place.

Variations of Unique Transformation

Unique Transformation has some variants, each of which may have their own quirks.

Dragondrive

Dragondrive icon

Unlike Shapseshifting, Dragondrive does not transform the Adventurer into their Dragon - instead, it enhances the stats, skills, and attacks of the base adventurer.

The Dragondrive gauge holds a maximum of 3,000 points, meaning that any regular Dragon gauge boosts will be only about 33% as effective, percentage-wise.

During the Dragondrive animation, the user is immune to all afflictions - however, they are not immune once the animation ends and they are in Dragondrive. While getting an affliction before Dragondrive would prevent Dragondrive, getting afflicted during Dragondrive will not end it.

While in Dragondrive, standard attacks will fill the gauge, allowing the Dragondrive state's timer to be extended if one keeps attacking. Skills can also restore or deplete portions of the Dragondrive gauge.

Dragon Haste does not affect Dragondrive gauge gain from Dragondrive-enhanced standard attacks or using skills. However, it does still affect gauge gain from enemies, boss HP thresholds, Dragon Obelisks, and personal dragon gauge boosts.

Abilities that grant Dragondrive

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability

Divine Dragon form

Divine Dragon icon

Divine Dragon form will transform the Adventurer into a unique Dragon. However, this form is still not treated as Shapeshifting proper, and thus is not affected by Dragon Claws, Dragon Damage, etc.

The Divine dragon gauge holds a maximum of 1,200 or 1,800 points, depending on the level of the ability Dragon Scion. This means that any regular Dragon gauge boosts will be only about 83% or 56% as effective, percentage-wise.

Upon entering Divine Dragon form, the user's skill gauges will be completely refilled.

While in Divine Dragon form, the user is immune to all afflictions. However, the user's Force Strike and equipped weapon skill are disabled.

Dragon Haste affects Divine Dragon gauge gain from using skills.

Abilities that grant Divine Dragon form

Name	Might Value	Adventurers with Ability	Wyrmprints with Ability	Dragons with Ability	Weapons with Ability